First Frost
by NPC016
Summary: That one death had taken three lives with it.


**A/N: Inspired by a post from Kuma in Taiwan regarding Winter. **

**Winter is much, much older than Weiss in this story, just consider it an AU if you're reading this after she appears on the show.**

**I do not own RWBY or its characters.**

**Constructive reviews and feedback are very much appreciated.**

* * *

"Up Winter! Up!"

Weiss giggled as her older sister complied, picking her up and swinging her around, before cradling the toddler to her chest and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

It had been too long since Weiss had last seen her big sister. She was rarely away for so long. One or two days was the norm, but she had been away for four days now! Four days in which she had not gone out for ice cream, or been taken to the playground. Not to mention having nobody to cuddle with when she had a nightmare on the second day.

The beleaguered servants had their hands full as Weiss had fussed and sulked. Ice cream was not the same when it came carefully arranged and scooped into a silver bowl, the array of flavours already picked out for the little princess. And the private playground on their estate was no fun with a stressed out maid constantly telling her to be careful and pulling her off the moment she even looked like she might be putting a foot wrong. The consequences would be dire if any bit of harm came to the white-haired darling of the Schnee family.

An almost audible sigh of relief had gone up around the home when they saw Winter's car pulling up in front of the house, signalling her return. The elder sister had barely managed to set foot in the house before a minor tornado had barrelled into her, hugging her legs and demanding that Winter pick her up.

"Whoa! I was only away for a while, but you're growing so quickly, you'll be a big girl in no time!" Winter smiled affectionately at the three year-old, who beamed at her in return.

Despite her status as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, Winter would still take the occasional hunting mission. After all, she was a huntress, the youngest ever to graduate from Beacon. She would not let her talents and those years of training go to waste.

Her packed schedule didn't mean that she didn't spend time with Weiss. Every moment she had that wasn't devoted to her company duties and missions as a huntress was spent with Weiss.

After all, someone had to. They were sisters, but Winter frequently found herself playing mother to the toddler in her arms. Weiss had been an unexpected blessing for the family after years of having only one heir to the Schnee empire, and there was a huge age gap between them.

The White Fang had gotten to their mother not long after Weiss was born, and their father, unable to get over the loss of the love of his life, had grown distant, burying himself in his work. Although as his temper deteriorated with every loss and casualty brought about by the terrorist organisation, Winter found herself thankful that he did not spend too much time around Weiss.

Without Winter, Weiss would have been left to be brought up by servants and tutors, and that was unacceptable to the older sister. There were some things only family could provide.

Weiss was too young to understand the details of what was going on, but she instinctively knew that Winter loved her. She saw it in the way her older sister's face would lose the stress from a long day when Weiss greeted her with a flying hug at the door, or how Winter would drop what she was working on to take her out, as long as she asked. With the help of a pout or two, of course.

"Hey, Weiss?" Winter looked down fondly. "Would you like to make a new friend? I have to go see a friend, and she has a daughter who's as little as you. We can play together if you want."

"Ok!" The toddler gave her older sister an even wider smile and nodded enthusiastically. A new friend! She hadn't had much chance to meet other children. A small army had to be arranged whenever Weiss left the estate, thanks to their father's orders. There was nowhere safer than being with Winter, though. The elder Schnee daughter was deadlier than any private security force, and Weiss knew she could never come to any harm with her big sister around.

"Winter?"

"Hmmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too Snow White," Winter used that pet name when she was feeling particularly affectionate. She finished buckling Weiss into her car seat and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You'll always be the apple of my eye."

**xxxxxxx**

Weiss hummed a wordless tune as she toddled up the driveway to a small suburban home, her hand gripping Winter's tightly.

"What's she like, Winter?" Weiss asked as she hopped over an imaginary line in the gravel.

"She's very nice, you'll like her," Winter replied as she rang the doorbell. A woman answered a few moments later. Her face lit up when she saw Winter, and they hugged.

"Winter!" The woman stepped back, her hands still on Winter's shoulders as she gave her the once over. "I didn't expect you'd be back so soon! I take it the mission went well?"

"As well as can be, the Ursa den was a little harder to track, the ones that had attacked the town had wandered much further out than was normal. That's why the rangers couldn't figure out where the Grimm were coming from. Of course, finding and clearing them out was child's play for an elite huntress." Winter flipped a lock of white hair behind her back in a mock gesture of superiority as the other woman rolled her eyes.

"But enough about work, I've brought my little sister, we're here to see you and Ruby." Winter scooped Weiss up to bring her to face level. "Weiss, say hello to Summer, my friend and teammate from school."

Weiss suddenly felt a little shy. She had heard a little about Summer Rose in snatches of conversation between Winter and their father, in the rare times he had dinner with them. She could tell Winter really liked and respected Summer, from the way her sister spoke of her.

Summer was really pretty. Her dark hair, tinged with red highlights, shaped a heart shaped face. Her silver eyes were kind, and traces of laugh lines were beginning to form on her face. Weiss could see why her sister liked being her partner. She hoped that Summer would like her too.

"Hey Weiss," Summer bent down a little to meet her eyes. "I'm glad to meet you! You're even more beautiful than how Winter described you."

"H-hello." Weiss stammered slightly, clutching at Winter's chest as her sister chuckled at her uncharacteristic bashfulness.

"She's a little shy around new people, but she likes you, I can tell. How about we introduce her to Ruby?"

"Sure! Come on in," Summer stepped aside to let the girls into the house. "Ruby's always happy to have more people around, it can get a little quiet with just the two of us."

Summer led them into the living room, where a toddler, slightly younger than Weiss, was playing with some toys. She looked up as the visitors entered the room, and her face lit up. She grinned sunnily at the Schnee sisters, waving her arms in the air.

"Hi!"

Weiss stared at the girl as Winter put her down. The other child had a shock of reddish-dark brown hair and silver eyes, just like her mother. But hers were different. They were prettier. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt afraid to approach the girl. This wasn't the first time she had met other children. There was something about this child. Weiss wanted to be her friend, but what if she didn't like Weiss?

"Weiss, this is Ruby, my daughter," Summer introduced. "She's a little younger than you, she's only one. She's really happy to meet you."

"Hi!" Ruby repeated, her smile as wide as ever.

"Go on," Winter encouraged Weiss gently. "Say hello to Ruby."

Weiss slowly walked over, sitting down next to Ruby. "Hello Ruby, I'm Weiss."

Ruby gurgled happily, handing Weiss an animal figurine from the treehouse playset in front of her. Weiss broke out into a smile as she took the proffered toy. The adults grinned at each other as Weiss sat next to Ruby and moved toward the nearby sofa, leaving the two girls to their play.

Unlike other children Weiss had encountered who would play beside her but not together, Ruby wanted to share. They soon settled into a comfortable pattern. Ruby would grab Weiss' hand and move it towards where she wanted Weiss to place the animal figurines. Weiss would put the pieces perfectly in place, only for Ruby to send them flying off the playset's toy swings or pushing them down the slide. Weiss' chiding noises then melted in the face of Ruby's happy laugh, and the figurines would be gathered up and arranged again for the younger girl to knock off.

All the while, Winter and Summer chatted in the background. Weiss was too young to understand what they were saying, although she caught some of the conversation every now and then.

"I'm glad you're both alright, it was terrible what happened to your mother in our final year."

"Yes, especially with Weiss being so young at the time. I don't think I could have made it without you, you really helped a lot."

"Phsst, nothing I wouldn't do for a best friend. Besides, it would have been a waste for Beacon's youngest prodigy to leave with one semester to go."

"I never did tell you how much I appreciated you not minding my age when we were partnered up. I imagine it would have galled anyone else to have to team up with the snotty 13-year-old."

"Nonsense, it was their loss. Besides, I vaguely remember almost blowing you up with dust when we first met, it's not like I was grade A partner material either."

"And you turned out to be the best partner I could have ever hoped for. I guess there was something in the stars. Speaking of partners, why isn't Yang here doing his part?"

"How do you know he isn't just out running an errand?"

"Summer, you're a beautiful woman, but nothing can save you from developing eyebags when you don't get enough sleep for a long enough period of time. You're obviously not getting any help with Ruby."

"He's been taking on a lot of missions. People need him, especially since he makes sure his fees are always affordable. You know how he is. But he loves Ruby, he sees her when he can."

"I can't imagine anything more important than being there for your child as she grows up."

Weiss looked up. There had been something different about Winter's voice in that last sentence. Something ugly.

Summer sighed, putting down her tea cup. "Don't worry about us Winter, we can manage just fine."

A look passed over Winter's face, unseen by Summer. It was not one Weiss had ever seen before, and it scared her a little. She seemed almost angry, yet sad at the same time as she looked at Summer.

"You might as well ask me to make the sun to rise from the west."

"Thank you, Winter."

**xxxxxxx**

Weiss was sitting on Winter's bed, her feet idly kicking the side of the mattress as she watched her sister put the finishing touches on her appearance. Her silvery white hair fell in waves on one side in an elegant side sweep, her fine, aristocratic features enhanced by deceptively natural-looking make up.

She was so beautiful! Weiss sometimes couldn't help envying how her sister seemed to make having it all seem so effortless. Beauty. Brains. Brawn. There was nothing Winter couldn't do.

She was eight now, and undergoing the training expected of her status as a possible, if unlikely successor to the most powerful company in Remnant. Etiquette, languages, history, dust manipulation, strategy. Not to mention the extracurricular activities like horse riding, singing and dancing.

Of all of them, she loved her combat and dust classes the most. It helped that Winter would spend extra time with her after lessons were over, ensuring Weiss had learnt her forms properly and showing her new moves.

She wanted nothing more than to be a huntress, just like Winter. She slew monsters and saved people, just like the legends in the history books she had to study. She was a hero not just to Weiss, but to the people around her.

Tonight, however, Winter was the heiress to the SDC, and had to help their father entertain business partners at a work function held in their mansion. Even there, she was perfect, Weiss thought. She could think of no time that Winter had ever seemed out of her element.

The younger Schnee daughter had always hated attending these parties. The interactions were always so forced for her. The adults would make fake cooing sounds as they told their father how pretty she was, smiling politely at her proper manner and speech. Any other children present would either be spoiled rotten, or be so painfully polite that it would be impossible to really be friends.

Like everything else, Winter took to these business gatherings naturally. She would flit from guest to guest, saying just the right things to make them feel valued, staying just the right amount of time to ensure everyone got a bit of her attention to ensure all felt welcomed.

They genuinely liked talking to Winter, too. Weiss could see how their body language changed, their postures relaxing just a little, their laughs taking on a deeper, throatier quality.

Winter caught Weiss' identical blue gaze in the mirror and smiled. "Why the glum face, Snow White?"

"Do I really have to go to this party?" Weiss sulked. "It's going to be full of adults who only want to talk about boring business stuff, and I'd really rather be helping you prepare for your mission tomorrow."

"You know father wants both of us there, Weiss. You'll be really important to the company someday, you'll need to get to know them eventually."

"Why? You're the one who'll head the company someday. I'm just the spare, it's not like it matters if I'm there."

"Who told you that?" Weiss turned sharply, her tone taking on a severe edge. "Why would you say that?"

Weiss hesitated, avoiding Winter's gaze and looking down. She picked at the lace on her pale blue skirt. "It's just something I heard. Besides, you know it's true. Father's always telling me how you've achieved so much more at my age. You're just better at everything."

"No, I most certainly do not know." Winter stood up and walked over to where Weiss was seated on her bed, kneeling before her and cupping a hand under her chin to make eye contact.

"Look at me, Weiss. You are important, whether you choose to be part of the company or not. You are not a 'spare', and you matter to me and to father, no matter what he says. The next time you hear someone say something like that, I want you to come straight to me and tell me who they are."

"O-Ok," Weiss stammered. She didn't want anyone to get into trouble. Nobody had told her, but she noticed how some of the servants would disappear or act differently around her if Winter thought they had done or said something untoward to her baby sister. "But I really don't care if I become important in the company. It's so boring to sit in meetings all day! All I want is to be a huntress, just like you and Summer!"

Winter chuckled as she placed her hands on Weiss' shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "And you can. You're smart, you're talented and you work hard. I had to too, you know. I didn't just wake up and know everything. You can be anything you want, as long as you put your mind to it. And I know you'll be a great person someday. Never forget that."

Weiss nodded, and Winter stood up, satisfied that she had gotten through to the girl. "In the meantime, we have a party to go to. Father won't like it if we come down late."

"I've already spoken with father," she continued. "I can excuse myself early to prepare. You just tell the guests you want to have an early night."

"I will!" Weiss paused, a thought occurring to her. "Will you be going with Summer this time?"

"Yes, we're partnering up on this job. Ruby will be staying with her father, though." Winter gave Weiss an amused, knowing look at her disappointed expression. Her sister had very much taken to Summer's daughter in the years since they'd met.

If no other option was available, Ruby would very occasionally stay with the Schnees when Summer and Winter went on a joint mission together. Even though this was a rare occurrence, Weiss always looked forward to spending time with the younger girl. Winter wondered if this was because Weiss had few opportunities to interact with children who weren't forced to put on a show for the adults around them, or if she just liked having someone younger than her around. Given how Weiss would huff at the mischievous red-haired child's antics but go along anyway, it was probably a bit of both.

She took Weiss hand and gave it a squeeze. "Come on, chin up, let's get this over with."

**xxxxxxx**

"Winter!" Weiss hurried forward to welcome her sister home like always, an enormous smile on her face. She had missed having her older sibling around, her mission taking far longer than anticipated. But it hadn't been the first time it had happened, and Weiss never worried that Winter wouldn't come back. She was too strong for that.

She screeched to a halt just before she reached the older woman. Something was wrong. Winter was standing still, gazing into the distance as their servants hurried to unload her car. She was even paler than normal, her eyes devoid of recognition, stuck in a thousand yard stare.

"Winter?" Weiss repeated, concern filling her voice.

Winter looked at her then, her face blank.

"Weiss." Her voice was devoid of emotion.

"Are you ok?" Weiss was getting really worried now. What had happened to her sister?

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you." Winter moved forward to give her a robotic hug. It felt like she was just going through the motions, with none of the warmth she usually put into their reunions. "I'm just really tired, it was a long mission. I'll see you at dinner, ok?"

Without waiting for an answer, Winter walked up the grand staircase leading to her room. Weiss stared after her, not believing her excuse for a second.

**xxxxxxx**

"It's not a good time, Weiss." Winter said flatly as Weiss stood in the doorway of her bedroom, her hands clasped in front of her.

Something had happened to Winter. She seemed fine physically, but the emptiness that had taken over her demeanour was worrying. Weiss had decided that she needed to be there for Winter, she couldn't leave her sister alone when she was like this.

"But I can't sleep, it was a really bad dream," Weiss insisted, her voice trembling. "I'm scared."

Winter heaved a sigh, apparently deciding there was no point in resisting further, and lifted her blanket. "Fine."

Weiss smiled and scurried under the blanket, her arms wrapping around Winter as she laid her head over her sister's heart. Listening to her heartbeat always helped her to sleep, and she knew Winter enjoyed snuggling, even if she would protest otherwise. Everything would be fine as long as they were together.

She awoke later in the night to Winter's screams, stuck in some terrifying dream she couldn't escape as tears rolled down her cheeks. Weiss had never been so scared in her life, as she shook Winter, trying to wake her.

"Winter! Wake-" Her sentence ended in a surprised yelp as Winter shot awake at her touch, her hand outstretched to summon a white glyph that threw Weiss against the wall.

The cry of pain that tore from Weiss' lips brought Winter to her senses. She hurried out of bed and ran to Weiss, a horrified expression on her face. "Weiss! Are you alright?"

"Y-yes." Weiss managed to gasp out, the impact having torn the air from her lungs.

"I'm so sorry," Winter gathered her up into her arms and burst into tears. "I'm so, so sorry."

Weiss felt the dampness in her hair as Winter buried her face in it and sobbed.

"It's ok Winter, it doesn't hurt." Weiss lied as she ignored the throbbing pain in her head to put her arms around Winter and squeezed as hard as she could. "Everything will be ok."

She knew for sure now that something bad had happened. The cries she'd emitted while in her dream state had been almost unintelligible, but Weiss had heard some of the words enough times on Winter's lips to know who had been in her nightmares.

She had been screaming Summer's name.

**xxxxxxx**

Weiss took a deep breath, gripping her practice rapier tightly. She knocked on the door, something she had never had to do before. But these doors had never before been locked to her either.

Although Winter was home, Weiss had barely seen her in the past few months. She had started locking her door after the night she had nearly injured Weiss, and would refuse to come out despite Weiss' pleas. What glimpses the younger Schnee had when Winter did deign to leave her room were rare, silent and fleeting, almost like seeing a ghost on the periphery of her vision.

She had asked their father if he knew what had happened, and his answer had only a grumble about how while it was tragic, it was about time she got over it and be thankful for the second chance she'd been given. Weiss knew he was as lost as her regarding what to do with her sister, when he asked her to try to get Winter out of her room more.

"Winter?" Weiss called tentatively. "Are you awake?"

No answer. Weiss swallowed nervously, wondering why speaking to Winter was causing her stomach to twist into knots.

"I was...I was just thinking maybe we could practice together? You promised to show me how to do that really cool move the last time..."

A few moments passed while Weiss held her breath. Winter had never broken a promise to her before. It had been weeks since she had returned from her last mission. Surely something might have changed by now?

"Go away."

The words, though spoken softly, felt like a heavy punch to her gut. The air left her lungs as unbidden tears filled her eyes at Winter's latest rejection. But she quickly wiped them away before they could fall. She was a Schnee, and Schnees did not so something as weak as cry in front of others.

She stood outside Winter's door for a while, her hand on the door, feeling lost and confused. Wondering why her sister no longer wanted anything to do with her. As her thoughts travelled along that tangent, she felt something unpleasant start to stir in her mind, a white hot sensation beginning to burn in her stomach.

Fine, if Winter was going to be that way, she would just train by herself then. She didn't need her, or anyone else. After all, didn't Winter manage without help growing up?

She marched to the training room, where the training robots were. Technically, she was not allowed to train in there without supervision, but it wasn't like there was anyone who would bother anymore. Besides, she had taken these down plenty of times before.

She set the difficulty level to high. It was difficult, but the software would ensure none of the mechanised knights' moves would be lethal. She'd heard Winter had defeated this difficulty level at the same age, and what her sister could do, she would do better.

An iron golem came to life, its red eyes swivelled to rest in Weiss' direction. The girl entered her ready stance, observing the golem's stance.

The robot charged at her, its fist raised as though to pound her into the ground. Weiss summoned a glyph and easily leapt clear of its attack, twisting mid-air to unleash a barrage of strikes on its other shoulder.

The golem swung its other arm at her, a swipe that Weiss blocked easily with her rapier, summoning another glyph to halt her backwards momentum and launch her back at her opponent. There was a tiny opening exposed on its arm, which meant that the joint could be coming loose. She spun in the air, generating momentum to put extra force behind her strike, and jammed the tip of her sword into the hole with unerring precision.

With a screech, the arm came loose, her well-maintained rapier having cut through some of the metal and cables holding that part of the construct together. Gravity took care of the rest, as the heavy limb tore free of the rest of the arm to crash on the floor.

Gears shrieked as the golem twisted to face her. It had no emotions, but the noise from the broken electronics and torn metal almost felt like a shriek of pain to Weiss. Good. At least they had something in common.

Weiss traded ripostes with the now one-armed robot, trying to find another opening to take advantage of. But the heavy armour that covered its body meant that her sword, no matter how sharp, would not be able to pierce its armour. She summoned a glyph and jumped back, putting extra distance between her and the construct as she prepared her next move.

She had been waiting for Winter to show her how to do this properly, but she supposed she'd had to improvise now. Creating glyphs and manipulating the elements with dust were second nature to her by now. Channelling them through her rapier was something she had seen but hadn't had the chance to learn, her combat tutor insisting that she perfect her swordplay first.

As the golem stalked towards her, she focused her aura onto her sword, willing it to become an extension of her. Channelling her semblance into it, she saw runes and patterns crawling up its length. A final sprinkling of dust along the blade set a lightning element into the runes that would discharge on her next attack.

The golem was almost upon her now, its fist raised once again to attack. Weiss waited until it was in mid-swing before summoning a glyph that would repel it in mid-air, the backlash all the more violent for its redirected momentum. A final glyph under her feet launched her up and towards the robot, and the rapier's lightning sharpened blade sliced through its neck as though it were a hot knife through butter.

Weiss landed, a surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her execution had been crude, and it had destroyed her weapon - she was left holding only its hilt - but she had done it! The practice sword had not been built for channelling her power, she realised, making a mental note to look into commissioning a proper weapon later.

But for now, the construct's defeat was enough. A short, happy laugh tore itself from her throat, only to die as she finally noticed the male figure in the doorway.

She was not sure when her father had entered the training room, but she was sure he was not happy. He walked slowly towards Weiss, his steps measured. Her back straightened in response, her shoulders squared. If she was in trouble, there was no point in pleading with him anyway.

He stopped in front of the shattered golem, staring at the pieces for what seemed like an eternity.

"You came in here by yourself?"

Weiss forced herself not to flinch at his tone. He did not suffer fools or excuses, and there was no denying the obvious.

"Yes." She fought the urge to babble out reasons and excuses. With men like her father, giving away too much sometimes simply made the situation worse.

"Why?"

"Winter had no problem with these when she was younger."

Her father nudged the golem's severed head with his foot, and it rolled over, revealing the clean edges where her weapon had shorn through reinforced metal. His gaze lifted, and lingered on her.

Weiss forced herself not to fidget. Despite the reprimand in them, there was something new in his eyes, as though he was finally seeing Weiss for the first time.

"It would be best if you did not follow in her footsteps." Was all he said as he turned sharply on his heel and left the room.

**xxxxxxx**

Eight years later, and Weiss found herself back in the training room once again.

Despite her father's efforts to reduce her combat training, increasing the time spent with her economics and finance tutors, her combat skills had increased by leaps and bounds. When the changes to her schedule were announced, Weiss had thrown a fit, to no avail. Her father had been set on training her to take on a role in the company.

So she did the next best thing, quietly scheduling extra practice time very early in the morning, getting up before most of the household would awaken.

Her father had found out at some point, but he realised there was no point trying to discourage his strong-willed daughter. Given the existence of the White Fang and the threat they posed to those associated with the SDC, it would be foolhardy to remove her combat training altogether. As long as she performed well in her academic and business lessons, he would tolerate her fascination with huntressing.

She hadn't seen Winter in years. Her older sister had resigned her position in the company and was now perpetually always on some mission or the other. She would return very rarely, for what purpose, Weiss did not know. She would only find out from the servants once Winter had left, with no opportunity to see her.

Weiss had long grown accustomed to the state of affairs between them. She did not know why Winter had shut even her out, and she told herself that she no longer cared. Her hurt at Winter's unspoken rejections had hardened into resentment over the years. She was alone, but she was a Schnee. She would show everyone that she was strong, that she didn't need anyone.

She wondered sometimes why she still wanted so much to be a huntress. With Winter abdicating her duties so abruptly – her father would say irresponsibly - Weiss' logical mind knew the SDC and the power it offered was hers for the taking, if she only wished to dedicate her life to the conglomerate.

But the desire to hunt monsters still remained, its cloying tendrils wrapped around some rebellious part of her psyche that refused to accept that her life was already mapped out for her. Her father had refused to entertain any notion of her going to a training school for hunters, but she had secretly applied to Beacon anyway. It was the best training ground for only the most elite students. If she was going to defy her family, she might as well do it with the best. If she got accepted, she'd figure it out then.

That was how she found herself in the training room again, preparing to take on another iron knight. Only this time, the difficulty setting would be set to "lethal", which meant there were no holds barred. She would defeat that feat of engineering with her own capabilities.

That way, she could prove to her father that she deserved a spot in the most prestigious school for hunters. He would look at her with that look, the one he had given her once all those years ago, that acknowledged her potential and abilities.

Most importantly, Winter had passed a similar test before she was given the go-ahead to enrol in Beacon, and she was only 13. Family support helped a lot when it came to fulfilling one's life ambitions.

.  
Of course, there had been a small platoon of security officers around then, in the case the fight went awry. Nobody was here now. But Weiss was confident it was nothing she couldn't handle. She wasn't a child anymore.

As she flipped the activation switch, the giant construct came to life once more, its eyes seemingly glowing a more intense red. It twisted a little to the side and wrenched a giant sword off the wall behind it. Weiss' eyes widened. She didn't realise they had weapons.

She did not wait for it to make the first attack, gliding across the room at an incredible speed to launch a powerful stab to keep it off balance. It blocked her attack with its sword, the force of their weapons colliding enough to send the giant golem stumbling back a step, while Weiss flipped into the air to bleed off the unwanted momentum.

The iron knight recovered quicker than expected, and swung its weapon downward. Weiss threw herself to the side to avoid the attack, there was no point in trying to block an attack with that kind of force behind it.

The golem was much faster than she remembered, the difficulty jump from hard to lethal larger than she realised. She raised her multi-action dust rapier, which she had named "Myrtenaster", in an attack stance, and leapt back at the metal monster, letting loose a flurry of blows that the average human eye would have difficulty tracking.

The golem was barely phased. It had turned to its side to take the brunt of her blows, which allowed it the wind up to swing its weapon at Weiss once her last blow had landed. It came at her while she was in the air, leaving her with no choice but to bring her sword up in a block.

The blow sent her sailing clear across the room, her feet sliding across the floor as she landed. Her arm ached from the vibrations travelling up the sword into her body. She looked up as she came to a stop, and her eyes widened. The golem had ran after her and had leapt into the air, weapon poised to deliver an overhead blow that she would have no hope of stopping.

She flipped backwards just as the sword crashed into the floor, leaving a large crack in the stone. She wondered if her allowance would be enough to have it discreetly repaired once the fight was over.

Summoning a glyph under her, she launched herself across the room, gliding past the golem at high speed, and getting in a few well-aimed blows at its legs in the process. This wasn't so hard, she was beginning to perceive a pattern to its attacks. She just had to find an opening.

With the help of a glyph, she leapt high up in the air, managing to deflect its next swing. A second perpendicular glyph in the air propelled her straight at its head, her weapon leading the way. It pierced one red eye, and Weiss quickly leapt clear before its free arm could reach up and grab her.

On her way down, she saw it swing its sword, aiming to intercept her downward arc, and she quickly summoned a glyph to help her jump up again. She would not fall fast enough to avoid the sword.

An iron fist suddenly slammed into the left side of her face as she reached the apex of her jump, her preoccupation with avoiding the lethal slice leaving her unable to anticipate her opponent's follow-up hook.

Her aura flared in panic, a moment too late to mitigate any force from the blow. She fell in an ungainly manner, bouncing once off the floor as she flipped over and slid backwards, facedown. Myrtenaster skidded to one side, far from her reach.

It almost felt like the blow had literally rattled her brain, accompanied by a feeling akin to having something explode in her head. She fought down the blackness that tried to claim her as she forced her limbs to push herself up, only to flop back down on her side as a tidal wave of nausea hit. Oh, this was bad.

She felt a wetness over her left eye, but couldn't open it. It had swelled shut. She could hear the golem advancing towards her, sword raised to deliver a deadly blow. Great, so much for becoming a legendary huntress. They were going to find her chopped in half, with no explanation other than her own hubris.

She sent a silent prayer to whomever was listening as the golem reached her, wondering what lay in the great beyond.

A blast of cold swept through the room just as the golem was about to deliver its killing blow, sending it stumbling back a step. Weiss struggled to open her right eye. It felt like it still worked.

She couldn't see much from her position on the floor, past a lingering curtain of red, but it was enough to reveal a feminine figure standing over her, casting spell after spell at the robot to drive it back. The person followed her initial barrage with a leap into the air, her weapon swinging in great arcs as she unleashed several combination strikes.

The iron knight didn't last long after that, collapsing into pieces on the ground. Weiss' eye fluttered closed as the new arrival hurried towards her.

She felt herself being gently lifted off the ground, her head carefully cradled to minimise movement. Finally losing consciousness, Weiss caught a whiff of pine. It was a sharp, crisp scent that meant only one thing.

Winter was back.

**xxxxxxx**

"…no, she's not going anywhere, just look at her! How is she going to handle that school?"

"I did just fine. So will she. At least they'll teach her how to fight properly."

The voices in her room were arguing softly. Why were people arguing in her room? Weiss tried to open her eyes, but barely managed to crack the right open. The room was empty on her right. There was something over her left, a pad of some sort. Her head felt like it was filled with cotton wool. Her body felt sluggish, resisting her best efforts to move.

"I should never have indulged those silly notions of hers. She should be taking an internship at the company, not playing at being some…some mercenary."

"I'm one of those 'mercenaries' you speak of father."

"Yes, and what a great role model you turned out to be."

"Be that as it may, the fact is, she has applied and been accepted to Beacon without your knowledge. She wants this. Would you rather she continue sneaking behind your back? You know how stubborn she is. I might not be around the next time to keep her from getting killed."

"The training there might kill her anyway."

"My airship might crash tomorrow and kill me anyway. All life is a risk. At least this way, she'll be better prepared than most, with trained professionals watching over her."

"And who will be left to take over the company when she's off chasing some pointless ambition and you're content to live like an animal in the wilderness?"

"Is that all we are? Pawns to queen if we make it to an end point set by you? What about what makes her happy?"

"If you cared about her happiness so much, then you wouldn't have abandoned this family for nothing more than a memory of that...that woman."

The temperature in the room dropped suddenly, and Weiss shivered. Winter's aura must have acted up. There was a long silence before the next words were spoken.

"That woman, as you call her, has saved my life too many times to count, in ways you could never imagine. I would prefer that you do not use that tone when referring to her."

Her father's reply was cut off as Winter continued speaking. "If making sure you have someone, anyone, to pass your legacy onto is so important to you, fine. I'll come back. I'll cancel my flight tomorrow and take any place in the company that you choose. Just let Weiss have her dream."

"You? After all that prattle about how you have more important things to do with your life? At least Weiss understands the concept of duty. Why should I trust you?"

"Because I will do anything for the people I love, unlike you."

"Ah, youthful idealism. And here I thought life had beaten it out of you. Alright, we'll do it properly this time. She can go to that school of hers, if she can show me she's capable of beating a mere training robot."

"But," he continued. "If anything happens to her while she's there, it's on you."

"I think I'll be fine with giving my little sister the freedom to decide what she wants to do with her life."

Their father harrumphed and left the room, muttering under his breath about fools and ideals.

Weiss couldn't help it. She wanted to confirm that Winter was there, that she hadn't imagined that conversation. She slowly forced her left hand up, wanting to remove the gauze covering her eye.

Only for it to be caught midway by a callused hand, which gently but firmly tugged hers back down to her side, and held it there. She felt another hand lightly resting over her left eye, followed by a cooling sensation that soothed the dull, throbbing pain that emanated from it.

Weiss fell back asleep, a sense of relief and comfort washing over her tired body.

**xxxxxxx**

"Hello, Weiss," Winter greeted her as they passed each other in the hallway.

Weiss made a small grunt of acknowledgement as she brushed past Winter. Her sister had returned after Weiss had gotten hurt, and resumed her position in the SDC, running her division as though she had never left at all. She'd had a lot to catch up on, which meant she worked late almost every day. Same old, same old. There was just more chance of them running into each other these days.

"Weiss." Winter called again, stopping her in her tracks.

"Is there something you want?" Weiss answered with a forced politeness, not bothering to turn around.

"Is it too much to ask for a little sister to respond properly to a greeting?"

"Hello, Winter." Weiss forced out, adding a dash of mock brightness to her voice. "I trust that's proper enough for you?"

"Weiss, I understand. You're angry, and it's my fault. But please, can't we just try to be sisters again?"

Weiss tensed, feeling something cold and hard form in her chest. How dare she. She was the one who had left, leaving a young child to suddenly fend for herself, and now that she was back, she expected things to go right back to the way they were with nothing more than a pithy apology? Weiss turned, her brows knit together as she prepared to deliver a sharp rebuke to Winter's selfish expectations.

"I don't see why you're suddenly so concer-urgh!"

A wave of dizziness hit Weiss, accompanied by a sudden pounding in her head. The concussion had been a bad one, and the doctors had warned that the aftereffects could last for up to a year after the injury. They had not been wrong. She would randomly experience headaches and dizzy spells that caused her to lose her balance and sent her stumbling for a support to stay upright.

She pressed herself against the wall, a hand clutching the left side of her head. She was vaguely aware of Winter's arms wrapping themselves around her, guiding her to lean on her sister while she was guided towards a sofa in a nearby room.

As she regained her awareness, she realised that she was being held, her head resting on Winter's lap. Her sister's hand was gently stroking the left side of her face, the cool touch bringing relief to the pounding in her head.

This comfort. It was so easy, so familiar. The feeling of safety and refuge, like being next to a roaring fireplace while a blizzard raged outside.

It scared her.

Weiss sat up, shoving Winter's arms away in the process.

"I'm fine. There's no need to baby me anymore."

Her symptoms were occasionally accompanied by bouts of irritability and sullenness, although Weiss was sure the people around her would say they couldn't tell the difference these days.

Weiss was mostly still angry at the years of hurt and distance Winter had put between them. And yet, she found an odd comfort in having Winter around again.

She sometimes wanted nothing more than to be around her big sister, to hug her and talk like they used to. However, she found herself unable to act on that urge, every attempt halted by an irrational anger at how weak she must be to harbour that desire after all Winter had done.

Winter did not respond. She only looked at Weiss sadly. Weiss closed her eyes and laid her head on the back of the couch, willing the remnants of the dizziness to pass. She felt Winter leave the room soon after, and told herself that this was for the best.

It was far easier to maintain the status quo of the past few years. To pretend they were merely two ships that passed in the night, acknowledging the other's presence, but never more than that.

That way, nobody needed to get hurt again.

**xxxxxxx  
**

The doctor hummed softly as she ran the scanner through Weiss' hair, examining her head as she sat properly in a chair, her legs crossed at the ankles. She had mostly recovered from her fight with the golem, the only souvenir from her near-death experience being a jagged scar over her left eye.

As the aftereffects of her concussion had slowly faded, she had pressed on with her father's final test, this time handily defeating the iron knight with practiced ease a couple of months back. Her father had no choice but to stick to his word, finally giving his consent for her to attend Beacon.

He had insisted on the doctor giving her one more check-up before she left, and she bore it with as much patience as she could muster. One last checkpoint, and she was free.

They were almost done loading her luggage into the limousine. Weiss couldn't believe that it was finally going to happen. She was going to Beacon.

The doctor gave a final, satisfied hum and stepped back.

"Alright, everything checks out. You're good to go, Miss Schnee."

Weiss thanked the woman and waited until she and her assistant had left the room before gathering her long hair up into a ponytail. She had shifted it to the right for a while to ease the pressure away from her left side, but as she bunched up her hair at the back of her head, preparing to do it the usual way, she hesitated.

It looked weird now, perfectly centered at the back her head. Any attempt at symmetry for her look was pointless at any rate, with the scar marring one side of her face. But it had been how she'd worn her hair for years, her father refusing to abide any "frivolous fashions" in her grooming.

With a mental shrug, she cast the thought of her father's disapproval aside and shifted her hair to the side, twisting it in a half bun before letting the rest cascade down behind her right shoulder. Setting a tiara in her hair, she took one final, satisfied look at herself in the mirror and left the room she had stayed in since she was a child.

She took her time walking down the stairs to the main entrance, savouring the feeling of leaving the house that had kept her caged for so long.

Her father was not around. She had expected that, given his opposition to her decision to attend Beacon. But what left her with a vague sense of disappointment was the absence of her sibling. Despite telling herself that she had nothing to say to her sister anyway, she had found herself wishing that Winter would be there, if only for someone to witness her flight to freedom.

So it was that Weiss was finally living her dream, the one achievement in her life that she could claim as solely hers, and nobody was there to see her off. An idle thought informed her that she might as well get used to it now. She shouldn't have been surprised, she told herself. It wasn't like Winter really cared about her.

"Miss Schnee!" Someone ran towards her as she was getting into the car. From the look of his pass, he was an SDC employee.

"Oh Miss Schnee! Thank goodness I got here in time! Your sister wanted me to give you this." He held out a velvet box, which looked like it held jewellery of some sort. "She apologises for not being able to be here, but there's been an emergency at the company…"

"Yes, there always is," Weiss bit out, but checked herself as she took the gift from the man. He didn't deserve her derision for doing his job. "Thank you for bringing this here."

"My pleasure!" He exclaimed. "She sends you her very best wishes!"

Weiss didn't bother responding as she got into the car.

Once the car had pulled away and the waving man was a speck in the windshield mirror, Weiss tossed the box to one side.

_Looks like Winter had finally picked up the Schnee habit of buying relationships with money. _

Weiss huffed and folded her arms, looking out the window, willing herself to focus on her new life. Her traitorous mind wouldn't let her, however, constantly bringing her attention back to the box.

She finally caved to her curiosity after her gaze wandered to the gift for the fifth time, growling under her breath as she snatched up the box and snapped it open.

Weiss raised an eyebrow at what was inside. A simple platinum necklace in the shape of an apple sat in the box, surrounded by an indentation that resembled an eye. With all their wealth, she was surprised Winter would try to buy off her affections with a cheap trinket. Maybe she really didn't care that much, after all.

Weiss slammed the box shut, intending to toss it aside once more. Perhaps she'd leave it in the car to show her sister just what she thought of it.

But then something stopped her mid-motion, a prickling at the edges of her memory, a whisper of a long ago promise.

The box was opened again, and Weiss gazed at it for a long while. She wondered what it was about the apple that made her unable to just dismiss the gift.

Finally, she lifted the necklace and put it around her neck. A cool, soothing feeling washed over her as she fastened the clasp. It felt foreign, in that it didn't come from her, but it was not unpleasant. It was almost comforting, in fact.

Weiss sat back and enjoyed the rest of the silent ride to the airship.

**xxxxxxx**

"What are you doing?!" Weiss cried as a girl with a red cape fell into her bags, scattering them haphazardly around the area.

"Uh, sorry!" The girl apologised, her silver eyes as wide as saucers.

"Sorry?! Did you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?

The girl had dark brown hair with red highlights, and seemed oddly familiar for some reason, as though they had met before. Before she could rack her brain as to why, Weiss saw the girl picking up the case that held her dust supplies, apparently in an attempt to clean up the mess she had created.

Weiss grabbed the bag away from her with a cry of "Give me that!" Given the girl's recent demonstration of her clumsiness, she could not be trusted with its valuable contents.

"This is dust!" She exclaimed. "Purified from the Schnee quarry!"

"Uh…"

"What are you, brain dead?" Weiss felt herself getting agitated at the girl's ignorance. This was an elite school! What was someone like that doing in here? Had they lowered their standards? Why had she fought so hard to get in for, then?

"Dust! Fire! Water! Lightning! Energy!" Weiss emphasised each word with a shake of the fire dust bottle. "Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?"

The area exploded in response as the girl sneezed, thanks to the powder that she had inhaled.

When the smoke had cleared, Weiss felt the little control she had left on her temper go.

"This is unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

"I'm really, really sorry!" The red-haired girl's apology only served to fan the flames of her anger.

"You complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

The girl's face crumpled, and Weiss almost felt sorry for her. But this was for her own good. If she couldn't cut it, then she needed to leave before she became a danger to herself or others.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school, it's not just sparring and practice you know." Weiss crossed her arms as she glared down at the girl. "We're here to fight monsters so…watch where you're going!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess," The girl finally snapped back, her eyes brimming with angry tears. It was enough to give Weiss pause. She didn't know why, but she didn't really want to see the girl get hurt. Still, she was making it so hard for Weiss to reign in her temper.

"It's heiress, actually," a third voice joined the fray. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world.

There were few things she could be proud of in her life, but the family name was one of them. Their products powered the world, after all. Many important advances could not have been made without innovations led by the SDC. She turned to the newcomer, a girl with golden eyes and a prominent black bow on her head.

"Finally! Some recognition!" She smiled at the black-haired girl. Perhaps this was someone worth getting to know.

"…the same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners." The girl continued, an almost accusatory look in her eyes.

"What?! How dare-" Weiss sputtered as she heard the red-haired girl behind her snicker at the insult to her family. An unpleasantly familiar feeling of judgement and rejection rose in her chest. A deep, quiet hurt stirred within her over the stranger's lies about her family. Her father had been buried in his work all those years, doing his best for society and sacrificing his family in the process. And this disrespect was what they received in return.

Weiss turned on her heel with a huff and stalked off, deciding they were not worth her time, and refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing her get upset. The servants that had accompanied her to Beacon would pick up her luggage.

Weiss looked up at the school that was going to lift her up to the pantheon of legendary hunters and huntresses. She would slay monsters and save people, and she would be loved for who she was, not what she was born into.

It was fine, it was just two people. Maybe she had just been unlucky. Winter had managed to find someone like Summer, eventually. Somewhere in there, her best partner was waiting for her.

Whoever it was, she hoped they'd be a great partner like Summer.


End file.
